Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Last night I went to a late night screening of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and I am just a little bit disappointed because it wasn't as, well, magical as I had hoped it would be.  I have long been anticipating the continuation of the Wizarding World because I am such a fan of the Harry Potter books and movies and, while I didn't hate this movie, I didn't love it, either.  Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) visits New York in the 1920s on his way to release a magical creature back into the wilds of Arizona and inadvertently releases several other creatures into the city when he collides with Jacob Kowalski (Dan Folger), who has a similar case.  Tensions are high because a dark wizard named Gellert Grindewald (an interesting casting reveal at the end of the film) is trying to provoke a war between the wizards and No-Majs (American Muggles) in the U.S.  The MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America) is trying to suppress the exposure of wizards so Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), a former Auror trying regain her status, arrests him but ends up helping him along with her sister Queenie (Alison Sudol).  Meanwhile, Percival Graves (Colin Farrell), the Director of Magical Security, is trying to track down a child possessed by an Obscurus, a dark force that is created when a wizard is forced to hide his or her magical powers, and enlists the help of the troubled son (a creepy Ezra Miller) of a woman (Samantha Morton) who leads a group against witchcraft.  There is also a sub-plot involving a U.S. Senator (Josh Cowdery) who is killed by an Obscurus, and his wealthy and powerful father (Jon Voight).  It is very obvious that this film is the beginning of a series (I've heard that five films are planned) because there is so much going on to set up future plots.  Many of the characters are very one-dimensional and I suspect that they will be more fully-developed in future films.  What I enjoyed most about this film are the scenes where Scamander and Kowalski traipse around New York trying to collect the escaped beasts, especially when Scamander must perform a mating dance to get an Erumpet back into the case.  I also enjoyed the scene where Scamander shows all of the beasts to Kowaski (the case is like Harry's tent because it is normal on the outside but large enough on the inside to contain all of Scamader's beasts and their habitats).  Redmayne is a lot of fun as the eccentric and permanently ruffled Scamander and Folger is endearing as the No-Maj caught up in the world of wizards but I did not like Waterston's portrayal of Tina Goldstein because it is so bland.  I suspect that I will enjoy the future films a lot more than this one; Gellert Grindewald has great potential as a villain!  In the meantime, however, this installment is definitely a must-see for fans of the Harry Potter franchise.